You probably remember the major story that erupted last September over some photos of Border Patrol agents on horseback who were accused of whipping migrants as they crossed the Rio Grande.

Border Patrol agents are whipping Haitian migrants at the US-Mexico border in Texas.https://t.co/9sFNCds7Ur

— VICE News (@VICENews) September 20, 2021

President Biden weighed in a few days later saying, “It was horrible to see…to see people treated like they did, horses nearly running them over and people being strapped, it’s outrageous. I promise you those people will pay.”

"Of course I take responsibility, I'm president."

Pres. Joe Biden tells @rachelvscott the controversial handling of Haitian immigrants "sends the wrong message around the world," claiming "there will be consequences." https://t.co/kx01LNbaNT pic.twitter.com/o3kDDt5Giq

— ABC News (@ABC) September 24, 2021

As Ed noted at the time, what was really outrageous was to have the president promise people would pay before an investigation of the incident had taken place. This was another case of the left demanding Covington Catholic justice, i.e. instant condemnation based on misleading images. Even the photographer who took the shots was trying to tell people “I’ve never seen them whip anyone.”

Today, Fox News reports that Sec. Mayorkas was notified of the photographer’s comments before he went to the White House to join the progressive pile on built around these images.

…just hours after Biden made his inflammatory remarks to cameras, Marsha Espinosa, assistant secretary of DHS public affairs, emailed Mayorkas and cc’d other DHS leadership, alerting them to a news article that showed that the photographer who took the images did not see any whipping. In the email, Espinosa highlighted the comments from the photographer where he directly says he did not witness any whipping.

Two and a half hours after receiving that email, Mayorkas joined White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki at a White House Press conference, where he continued to push the narrative:

“Our nation saw horrifying images that do not reflect who we are. We know that those images painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation’s ongoing battle against systemic racism,” Mayorkas said.

Here’s the September 24, 2021 press conference cued up to Mayorkas’ comments. If you watch a minute or two of this, Mayorkas said an investigation had already started and he promised it would “conclude quickly.”

In fact, Mayorkas had already made the media rounds a day earlier saying pretty much the same thing he said at the White House, i.e. he was “horrified” by the images. Here he is on MSNBC on Sep. 23, 2021:

Mayorkas didn’t change his tune at all, despite being alerted that the photographer said no one had been whipped by CBP agents. The facts just didn’t seem to matter. And if you watch until 2:35 in that clip above, you’ll see Mayorkas said, “We intend to complete that investigation within just a few days.”

Mayorkas said something similar when he was on Joy Reid’s show on Sep. 21, 2021. “We need this resolved swiftly and in fact I anticipate that the results of the investigation will be available by the end of next week.” Here he is:

But within a few days it was widely understood that the initial reports were wrong. The NY Times had corrected their story to remove unsubstantiated allegations that migrants were whipped.

NYTimes correction:

Original:"The images of agents on horseback chasing, & in some cases using the reins of their horses to strike at running migrants…"

Now:"Images of Border Patrol agents on horseback waving their reins while pushing migrants back…"https://t.co/oOMUkbZFAd pic.twitter.com/Ged8q0eR6F

— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) September 27, 2021

When Mayorkas appeared on Jake Tapper’s show that weekend (just a couple days after his statements at the White House) he was on the defensive. Notice there’s no more mention of the investigation concluding in a matter of days.

Indeed, instead of a swiftly concluding investigation, it was more than nine months later when CBP finally published a 500-page report which determined, “There is no evidence that Border Patrol Agents involved in this incident struck, intentionally or otherwise, any person with their reins.”

How did we go from concluding the investigation in a few days to 9+ months? Could it be that the Biden administration quickly realized they were the ones who were in the wrong? So instead of a quick resolution, this was dragged out until normal people had forgotten all about what Mayorkas and Biden had initially said about it. How convenient for them.

Again, the story here is that Mayorkas already had a pretty good indication the story being pushed by the left (and President Biden) was bogus before he went to the White House to double-down on it. Instead of using the White House press secretary’s podium to direct people toward the truth of the matter, Mayorkas stuck with the misperception which he and others had helped to create about the “ongoing battle against systemic racism.”

BORDER PATROL WHIPPING CONTROVERSY RESURFACES: Newly obtained @DHSgov emails report that @AliMayorkas knew migrants weren't whipped. @BillFOXLA brings us the latest:@BillHemmer @DanaPerino pic.twitter.com/7MNzCwGux5

— America's Newsroom (@AmericaNewsroom) October 12, 2022